Necessity of Means

After the sufficient promulgation of the Gospel, the sacrament of Baptism is necessary for salvation by necessity of means, yet not absolutely but hypothetically. It is said:

I. After the sufficient promulgation of the Gospel. Thus the Council of Trent.¹ Now sufficient promulgation for some, but not for all, was effected through the sermon of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost. For the rest, authors more commonly teach that the promulgation of the Gospel for different nations took place at different times, and that for the whole world it has already long since occurred, although its diffusion has not yet been extended everywhere.

II. The sacrament of Baptism is necessary for salvation by necessity of means; this proposition is of faith from the Council of Trent: "If anyone says that Baptism is free, that is, not necessary for salvation, let him be anathema."² Cf. canon 737, § 1.

III. Yet not absolutely, but hypothetically; by these words it is signified that there are means which can supply the place of Baptism, namely Baptism of desire and perhaps Baptism of blood, concerning which we shall speak in the scholia.

¹ Session 6, chapter 4.

² Session 7, On Baptism, canon 5.

I first note these words of the Council of Trent: "If anyone says that Eucharistic Communion is necessary for little children before they have arrived at the years of discretion, let him be anathema."¹ Wherefore note that here the matter concerns real reception of the Most Holy Eucharist; hence it is of faith that such reception is not necessary for little children. These things being noted, with respect to necessity of means I say:

I. It is disputed whether or not the Most Holy Eucharist is necessary by necessity of means for justification, this necessity being taken in the proper sense, namely so that it is necessary by way of efficient cause. Some affirm this because of these words of St. John: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you."² Hence in their opinion the Most Holy Eucharist, if it can conveniently be done, must be received in reality; if this cannot conveniently be done, it must be received in desire; but little children receive it in this way through the Church. In this opinion it must also be admitted that Baptism and Penance do not justify except with desire for the Most Holy Eucharist.

Others deny that the Most Holy Eucharist is necessary by necessity of means for obtaining justification, both because Sacred Scripture³ assigns Baptism as a sufficient means for acquiring first grace, and because the Most Holy Eucharist is the sacrament of the living and therefore per se supposes grace, and because it is very difficult to admit that a sacrament which by a great part of human beings, that is, by little children per se, or by force of natural condition, cannot conveniently be received in reality, and therefore must be received in desire, that such a sacrament, I say, has been constituted necessary by necessity of means. I said: cannot conveniently be received in reality, and this indeed in such a way that it is forbidden by the Church to give the Most Holy Eucharist to little children.

Nevertheless a peculiar necessity of means is rightly admitted, namely by way of final cause, insofar, namely, as the Most Holy Eucharist is the end of all the sacraments, so that they, even Baptism and Penance, do not confer grace except by looking toward the Most Holy Eucharist (St. Alphonsus, III, 192).

II. It is disputed besides whether or not the Most Holy Eucharist is necessary by necessity of means for preserving grace. Some deny this, because there are other means also for preserving grace. Others affirm it, "because just as the life of the body cannot long be preserved without material food, so the life of the soul cannot be preserved without this spiritual food, at least in desire, and indeed explicit desire in one who notices the necessity of this sacrament" (St. Alphonsus, VI, 193). At least moral necessity seems commonly to be admitted.

With respect to the opinion of St. Thomas on the necessity of the Most Holy Eucharist, cf. III, q. 73, a. 3; III, q. 79, aa. 1 and 3; III, q. 80, aa. 2 and 11.

¹ Session 21, canon 4; cf. chapter 4.

² John 6:54.

³ Mark 16:16; Gal. 3:27; Titus 3:5.

“To your inquiry We respond thus: the priest whom you signified to have ended his last day without the water of Baptism, because he persevered in the faith of Holy Mother Church and in the confession of the name of Christ, We unhesitatingly assert to have been freed from original sin and to have attained the joy of the heavenly fatherland.” Innocent III, chapter Apostolicam, 2, De Presbytero non baptizato.

We treat 1. of habitual and actual necessary faith itself, 2. of truths necessarily to be believed.

St. Thomas, III, q. 68, a. 1 and 2; q. 66, a. 11 and 12.

133. Principle I. After the Gospel has been promulgated, by the positive ordination of God the sacrament of Baptism is necessary for all men per se and ordinarily, by necessity of means for salvation; but for adults it is also necessary by necessity of natural and divine precept, since that means must be received by them voluntarily. - It is of faith.

It is proved: For adults from the words of Christ, Mt. XXVIII, 19 and Mk. XVI, 16; for all, even children, from John III, 5-6: Unless someone shall have been born again of water and the Holy Spirit..., which words affirm that Baptism is the condition without which there is no spiritual life; and the Church has understood that this is so, even for children. As is established from perpetual tradition; and from the Council of Florence, decree for the Armenians and for the Jacobites; and from the definition of Trent, sess. 7, can. 5, sess. 5, can. 5, and sess. 6, c. 4 (can. 737, § 1).

The necessity of Baptism as a means is denied by the Pelagians, who reject original sin, and by Protestants, who hold that faith alone suffices; for children, Lutherans say that it is necessary; Calvinists, on the contrary, although they hold it as a rite of introduction into the Church; Baptists deny the validity of Baptism in infants. Several Modernists say that the necessity of Baptism arose from ecclesiastical law (prop. 42).

134. Principle II. The sacrament of Baptism can extraordinarily or per accidens be supplied by Baptism of blood, or martyrdom, or by Baptism of the Spirit, or an act of charity or perfect contrition with at least an implicit desire of the sacrament itself. - It is certain from the tradition of the Church.

It is proved: A. Baptism of blood is martyrdom, or death inflicted and endured for Christ, for the true faith, or for another Christian virtue.

It takes the place of the sacrament, as is established from the words of Christ, Mt. X, 32, 39; Luke IX, 24; even in children, which is clear from the fact that the Church has always honored as martyrs the innocents killed by Herod, "who confessed not by speaking but by dying." This is altogether most fitting: for since the sacraments have efficacy from the Passion of Christ and His merits, it is necessary that a real imitation of the Passion of Christ, by which man is most greatly configured to Christ, obtain the application of the merits of the Passion and the effect of the sacrament (q. 66, a. 11).

B. Baptism of the Spirit¹ or of desire is not so called because the desire of Baptism is present, since this is also present in the other baptisms of adults, but because only the desire of Baptism is present: it is an act of charity or of contrition perfected by charity, which includes at least implicitly the desire or vow of Baptism, in the will of doing all things which God commands under grave obligation and of applying all means necessary for salvation, among which the first is Baptism; "insofar," says St. Thomas, q. 66, a. 11, "as someone's heart is moved by the Holy Spirit to believing and loving God, and to repenting of sins."

¹ This denomination is in use from the beginning of the thirteenth century.

It takes the place of the sacrament in adults, because, since the sacraments have power from the Holy Spirit as from the first cause, someone can through the power of the Holy Spirit obtain the effect, not only without Baptism of water, but even without Baptism of blood. As is established from the altogether general assertions concerning the love of God (John XIV, 23) and concerning penance (Ez. XVIII, 21), which are confirmed by the fact of Cornelius, upon whom, before he had been baptized, the Holy Spirit visibly descended (Acts X, 33, 44); likewise from the Council of Trent, sess. 6, c. 4, and from the doctrine concerning justification ex opere operantis, i.e., by an act of charity and perfect contrition, which is demonstrated in the treatise on grace, and is drawn from the condemnation of proposition 30 of Baius.

But since the vow of the sacrament is required, it follows that those who have been justified by Baptism of the Spirit or of blood remain obliged, given the opportunity, to receive the sacrament of Baptism; whence one already lethally wounded in hatred of the faith would be to be baptized if he should continue to live for a few further instants.

135. Corollary. - Baptism is threefold: of water, of the Spirit, and of blood.

1. Baptism of water, namely, the sacrament of Baptism, is an external ceremonial sign: a sacred rite instituted by Christ and ministered in His name, so that it may be His instrument unto the remission of sins and insertion into the Church. It justifies ex opere operato with attrition alone, imprints a character, and remits all punishments due to sins, as was explained above, n. 130.

2. Baptism of the Spirit, or of desire, is an act of charity or of contrition perfected by charity. It is not a sacrament, because it is not an external sign, and consequently does not imprint a character; whence after such a baptism there remains the obligation of receiving the sacrament of Baptism. It justifies ex opere operantis, and ordinarily does not remit all punishments.

3. Baptism of blood, or martyrdom. It is not a sacrament, because it is not a sacred ceremonial sign or a rite instituted by Christ, which is ministered in His name so that it may be His instrument for sanctification; whence it does not imprint a character. It justifies quasi ex opere operato, namely not actively, but passively, with attrition alone, and in it all punishments due to sins are remitted. It excels the others on account of greater and more perfect conformity with Christ, and therefore God bestows greater grace in it (q. 66, a. 12).

Do not think that attrition does not suffice for Baptism of blood, but that the disposition of charity is required according to that text, I Cor. XIII, 3. - For a) by martyrdom received in due disposition without an obstacle, charity is obtained by that very fact; b) charity is required for this, that martyrdom be not only a means of justification, but also a meritorious work; and in this sense the Apostle seems to speak.

VI. QUESTION IV. What is the necessity of receiving Baptism? ANSWER. A twofold necessity: of means and of precept. Without that which is necessary in the first way, salvation cannot be obtained unless it be had either in fact or in desire. And of this kind are Baptism for all, and Penance for sinners who are adults. That is said to be necessary in the second way which is imposed by a precept, and which cannot knowingly be omitted without sin. Salvation nevertheless can be had without it, either through ignorance or through some other obstacle which hinders the observance. But no ignorance and no impossibility avails in respect of those things which are necessary with the necessity of means. Again a twofold necessity of means is distinguished. One exterior, as is the baptismal washing; and this can be supplied by faith and charity with the desire. The other intrinsic, as is sanctifying grace; and this can be supplied in no way. Unless it be really had, eternal salvation is impossible. The desire likewise is twofold. One implicit, as is the general desire or wish of observing all the precepts of Christ, which cannot be separated from perfect charity. The other is an express desire or wish, which arises from knowledge of the thing, and is required when the thing is necessary with the necessity of means.

The NEGATIVE opinion is attributed to Alexander of Hales 4. part. quaest. 22. memb. 5. art. 1. Adrian in 4. quaest. ult. de Baptismo, Armachanus lib. 8. de qq. Armen. cap. 37. D. Bonaventure in 4. dist. 4. part. 2. art. 1. quaest. 2. — where however he did not teach it, nor can this opinion be found in his writings, as Suarez disp. 29. sect. 1. Vasquez disp. 153. cap. 7. Mastrius disp. 2. quaest. 7. art. 4. and other recent authors cited by him testify.

The SECOND opinion, the assertive one, is that of D. Thomas 2. 2. quaest. 114. art. 1. ad 1. et quodl. 6. art. 4. Richard in 4. dist. 4. art. 2. quaest. 3. Scotus dist. 4. quaest. 3., whom the others commonly imitate, as in Mastrius loc. cit. Soto disp. 3. art. 11. Suarez, and Vasquez above. This is the opinion of D. Bonaventure dist. 4. part. 2. art. 1. quaest. 2., where he limits the opinion of Alexander of Hales, who said that Baptism of water profits more persons than that of blood. Whence he makes no distinction here between infants and adults, as Suarez notes.

MORE CLEARLY, in the fourth part of that distinction, dub. 4. cit., where he confesses that the Holy Innocents are Martyrs by privilege. And in dubio 4. he asserts that an infant who, while being carried to Baptism, is killed so as not to be baptized, and dies for Baptism, is rightly and piously believed baptized in his blood: what could be clearer?

THE Innocents indeed the Church venerates as Martyrs, and the Holy Fathers confess it: Augustine lib. 3. de lib. arb. cap. 23. et lib. 2. de Symbolo ad Catech. cap. 5. et lib. 3. cap. 4. Cyprian serm. de Stella, et Magis. Leo Pope serm. de Epiph. primo, et secundo. Origen homil. 3. in varia Evang. loca. And the Church prays for them in its prayer as Martyrs.

S. Bonaventure adds, dub. 1., that the liberty of will was wanting to them, and therefore their Martyrdom was not so perfect as in holy adults; for to perfection charity is required, moving the will, as is said Ioan. 15. Wherefore, when Mastrius infers: If contrition were necessary, it would follow that in infants the Martyrdom is imperfect, according to the Fathers — which is readily granted to him: Nay, I retort: If the reason is equal, therefore no disposition of will is required in adults.